>> a nation in mourning. poland is grieving after a horrific plane crash, the president killed along with top military, political and church leaders. what's next for a country suddenly in a leadership vacuum? good morning. i'm aaron gilchrist. it's sunday, april 11th, 2010. first a quick look at the day's forecast. meteorologist j meteorologist -- >> another perfect start to our day with temperatures a little

bit chilly. clear skies as we take a live look outside. you can see what's going on and just beautiful conditions. the sun will be coming up around 6:38 this morning. again, really hard to find any clouds in the sky today. a few high clouds off to our north will be pulling in later during the day. the sun will really begin to warm us up as we head through the late morning hours. temperatures generally in the 40s. a few isolated spots reaching the 30s right now. a frost advisory for areas across the shenandoah valley. we should in the 50s and approaching 70 by noontime and late afternoon, low to mid-70s for high temperatures. changes in the seven days in a few minutes. >> all right, justin. we'll see you in a few minutes. thanks. >> a week of mourning has been declared in poland. polish newspapers dedicated sunday editions to president

lech kaczynski killed in a plane crash in western russia. the plane was carrying the first lady and other leaders to a memorial service marking the massacre of polish officers by soviet forces during world war ii. the plane crashed in the thick midmorning fog. the pilot was making his fourth attempt to land. >> like many young poles, you seem very shocked. >> i am shocked still. i really don't know want to think about it. i mean, it's such a big loss and came so suddenly. >> russian prime minister vladimir putin is heading up the investigation of the crash and poland's parliamentary speaker who is now the acting president says he will announce early elections within two weeks required under the country's constitution. >> there has been an outpouring of grief from the local community, as well. many gathered at the polish

embassy in northwest washington on saturday. derrick ward has details. >> they began showing up at the front gate of the polish embassy early in the morning. for some the connection with poland was and ses central. as word of the tragedy began to spread, so did the grief. >> we lost a great president and i november what will happen to parliament. they will do the right thing. >> the loss of a president, first lady, and officials all at once seemed almost unfathomable for many in this country. >> president kaczynski represented the generation of freedom, the freedom connected permanently was the legacy of solidarity movement. >> by midday, the embassy had opened a book of condolences for those who came to put down words of sorrow. >> this is what it would be like losing obama, pelosi, the head

of the fed and cabinet secretaries all in one day. >> the president was on his way to commemorate the massacre of 20,000 polish officers on the orders of joseph stalin 70 years ago. the decades have yet toe deaden the pain of that loss now forever associated with another. the pain is compounded. >> we lost most of our intelligentia way back during the war time and again we lost our leaders going to that place. it's very ironicing. >> remembered such a long time because most of us lost our family in katyn. that's very, very sad. >> derrick ward, news4. >> the polish embassy is inviting anyone who want to pay their respects to sign a book of condolence ises. it will be open from noon till 5:00 today and monday through friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. we now know the name of the

woman who died after a shooting at a restaurant in prince george's county. 32-year-old cynthia aaron died at the hospital. police were called to the, barking lot of andrews restaurant early morning. in suitland. there they found a woman and man with gunshot wounds. the man is expected to survive. the preliminary investigation shows the shooting started with an argument between the man and an unknown suspect. >> a student says she was attacked at georgetown university at the copley residence hall friday night. the woman told police she was walking from her room to the basement when a stranger started to follow her and grabbed her from behind and pushed her against the wall. police say he put one hand over her mouth and the other up her shoot when she pushed him and ran away. no suspect has been identified. police are not saying if this sexual assault could be related to the so-called georgetown cuddler.

>> today is the final round of the masters and tiger woods is in third place, but well within reach of the lead. woods will tee off in the second to last group this afternoon as he looks to cap his comeback with a win. kristin dahlgren is in augusta with the latest. >> reporter: he may not be in the lead going into today's final round but if this week has taught a lesson, it's that tiger woods can make a comeback. on the course he is just 4 off the lead. in the galleries, he's been scoring points with fans all week. >> he's just a magnificent player. you can't help but want to see the best. >> reporter: woods returned to the pastors comes four months after a tabloid scandal took him away from the game. >> we spoke about the questionable state of his emotion.mind based on what's happened over the last five months. he looked as cool as a cucumber from the first tee. his performance was suburb. >> like his drive, that's gone a long way toward moving the focus

from the affairs back to the fairways. >> i think if somebody's very talented, you have to separate the two things. >> and going into the final day, even woods knows -- >> i think tiger, he want to win this tournament so bad, it's his comeback. >> finishing first could really help his hunt for a second chance. kristin dahlgren, nbc news, augusta. >> now to win his fifth masters and 15th major championship today, woods would havavto do something he's never done at a major, come from behind on the final day. today at 8:00 a.m., the old stadium for the dallas cowboys will become a pile of rubble. more than a ton of dynamite will blow up texas stadium. it should take about a minute. the cowboys played their last game there in december of 2008 and moved into the $1.2 billion cowboys stadium in arlington last season. >> seven minutes now after the 6:00 hour. you have to peel layers today if you're heading outside.

justin is in storm center4. >> temperatures today will be about 10 degrees above average for a high this afternoon but another cold front heads our way. i'll talk about the changes coming ♪

[ female announcer ] yoplait's perfect blend of real fruit and the goodness of dairy is just a peel away. explore all the delicious flavors. yoplait. it is so good. that, on the list of things kids love, our party pizzas have just passed toy robots. awkward. kids love totino's party pizzas. >> after the wake-up call,

astronauts are back outside the international space station in morning. two astronauts are busy remove agold ammonia tank on the station and replacing it with a new one. this is the second of three space walks that are scheduled for this mission and today is the 40th anniversary of the apollo 13 launch which resulted in one of the world's most dramatic rescues ever in space two days after liftoff when an oxygen tank ruptured while the three-man crew was on its way to the moon. your wake-up call this morning, a little bit of cold air if you're heading out the next few minutes. let's check it with justin. yesterday it was you and chuck. go ahead, justin. >> you're doing all right. no problems at all. a little bit of a cool start today. not as cold as yesterday but some areas are dealing with temperatures in the 30s this morning. so still there could be a few areas seeing some frost outside. but generally, we are looking at a warmer day today on average as temperatures soaring back into the evans. a nice shot of the sky right

now. cloud-free conditions. a crescent moon. the sun should be up in about a half hour or so. you can already see it coming up as bright colors starting to show up. a perfect morning outside. maybe you're heading out for church services or an early morning jog or bike ride, look at that, glassy conditions on the potomac waters. 47 officially at national airport. a light breeze out of the southwest at five miles per hour. that breeze out of the southwest will start to bring in warmer air from the southern regions. here we will go. we'll check out temperatures right now. generally low to mid 40s. some of these numbers may be a little bit too warm. some problems from some of the reporting stations getting data in. i'm sure isolated areas seeing the 30s across the virginia piedmont. somewhat average for our temperatures for morning hours. we are still looking at a frost advisory in effect till 8:00 this morning for areas across the shenandoah valley.

those locations, sensitive plants would want those covered or bring them in. hopefully dull last night as the temperatures are getting close to frost criteria there. 52 again around the d.c. area. a little bit cooler out towards the beltway. warm air off to our south and west, st. louis 63 degrees. that's all headed our way today. enjoy another nice afternoon across the district and even the middle atlantic. traveling conditions, no problems heading in either direction. here's the next front to our north. stream of clouds coming across the great lakes. moisture is limited with this system. that front will slowly sag southward throughout the day today. we'll start to see increasing clouds late this afternoon. the high pressure system begins to pump in so the warmer air begins to return. the front crossing us overnight tonight, tomorrow morning. a few clouds around for your monday. by the afternoon we should see

the sunshine return and still keep our eyes on the next system. could bring a few showers in here later tuesday. it remains to be seen. we'll watch the next couple of computer model runs. seven-day forecast again, clouds off and on monday and tuesday. upper 60s for your start of the workweek. back down to 63 on tuesday. that's the cool shot of air that builds in behind the front. by midweek, back up to the upper 60s with sunshine or wednesday and thursday. friday will be the next chance for som rain showers. >> where did that come from? was that there yesterday? >> that was in there yesterday. >> we'll take it though. we expect a little rain every now and then. thanks a lot. >> designing women" access dixie carter has died. she died yesterday morning but didn't realize a cause of death. carter was best known for her role as julia sugarbaker on the cbs sit-com designing women". carter also appeared on "family

law" "different strokes" as well as on broadway. she was just 70 years old. >> next up on nbc 4, reporters notebo notebook. the stories affecting your community. we'll be back in 15 minutes with the morning's top stories and your forecast. for now, here's pat lawson muse. >> good morning. welcome to "reporter's notebook." history part 2? that's how former republican maryland governor bob ehrlich characterized his bid for his old job. ehrlich has officially announced plans to challenge democratic governor martin o'malley in an election rematch. the two last met in 2006 when o'malley unseated ehrlich. ehrlich is vowing to roll back the sales tax and make maryland more business friendly. he is one of two republicans vying for that phenomenon nation. one of them will challenge o'malley in november. o'malley will face george owings

iii and possibly wayne curry in the september primary. ehrlich says this is not a grudge match. do you believe that? >> mark? >> he addressed this and did say, i think it was the only quell that former governor lick answered at his press conference. i find it odd he holds a press event and doesn't take questions. but he said the last time he had a grudge match was in grade school and he won that. so i think there is, i have governor o'malley on my show every month. and governor o'malley in the four years he's been doing the show has never miss add opportunity to take a shot at ehrlich. i think he's been kind of waiting for this rematch for a long time. and knew that this was inevitable. and so it comes as no surprise to o'malley or to anybody else. >> and bob ehrlich has said he would be willing to use -- this is funny, he would be willing to debate o'malley on the radio but

the second part of that claus is on my radio show which come on, that sounds a little. >> we all know we want it on my radio show. >> everyone want it on their radio show. but o'malley said he will debate him but did not say on his radio show. >> bill myer. >> the bigger picture picture here is there is o'malley fatigue sort of like, him again. i don't know that the republican party has a very deep bench in maryland. they've been sort of scattershot. air lick by virtue of having knocked off kathleen kennedy townsend seems like the most likely candidate. the question for republicans is are you sure you're not walking into somebody else's street corner brawl. i don't know how you come out of that one good. >> he made the announcement in rockville. are we going to see a race run much closer to home this time around? >> can't move first of all

without montgomery county in all of maryland as you know. some of the groenings in the general assembly, it's it's them again. i think they believe they can sheer off if not at least get support nrt montgomery county, at least get cash from people who have o'malley fatigue. >> what you would note if you looked at ehrlich's schedule, he doesn't have anything planned for montgomery or prince george's county, almost as if the early game plan is just to concede, take that what he can get, the people in montgomery and prince george's county who do have the o'malley fatigue as bill called it but really concentrate on the western counties and hope there's enough angst against o'malley there to win the day. >> there may it be o'malley fatigue, but a lot of voters in maryland can't forget when ehrlich wases in office, the utility bills. remember? only ones in the country went

70% up. and people, foreclosures that was the threshold to foreclosure. >> remember four years of tax increases under o'malley. that's what ehrlich is going to point to. >> the foreclosure crisis hasn't gotten any better under o'malley. npg, it's gotten even worse. on top of which in the outlying parts of the state, enormous resentment over gambling initiatives that angered a lot of people. >> how about the mood of the national electorate and the upsets in other countries? do they portend any possible appetite for, you know, an upset in maryland by the republicans? >> i personally feel that's a shallow, that we're looking at a very shallow sort of pushback. that's not to say that the republicans won't gain nationally. the opposition party typically does in off year elections. from my own view, i don't see a massive mobilization of the

christian right, for instance, pushing back democrats in any of their strong hold places. at the end of the day, maryland still belongs to montgomery and prince george's county. >> jerry and mark, there is thinking republicans could gain in the generally assemble if they gain anywhere. >> they could gain in the general general assembly because those jurisdictions where you find still economic struggle because of the economy. and remember, the economy is the driving train in all of this. and especially when you talk about cutting back taxes and going to do away with taxes, that has a lot to do with it or those going to the general assembly. i now maintain, pat, i still say that ehrlich has an uphill fight against the democrats in maryland. >> the end of an impasse. after more than two years of tense negotiations, there is finally a tentative contract agreement between the washington teachers union and the d.c. public schools. it still has to be ratified by

the council and the union membership. but the proposed pact gives the city 3800 teachers a hefty raise, 20% over five years. they're going to get extra pay for performance. the city would have to provide professional development programs to help the teachers keep their jobs.there's less reliance on tenure and there are tougher dismissal rules. mayor fenty calls this one of the most progressive contracts of its kind and both sides seem to be happy with it. did both sides win. >> $65 million is coming from private funders, the city's finance officer is white knuckled about this. frankly their concern is we're looking at a personality thing. the full employment bill instead of a union contract. if rhee walks out the door or invited to take her elsewhere, what's going to happen with the

private funds underwriting these contractually obligated pay raises. they're very worried the taxpayers will be left holding the bag if the funders don't come together correctly. >> that's exactly right. the devil is in the details. the $64 million that is coming from companies like walmart who traditionally have been anti-union and anti-public school, traditional public schools, more in favor of charter schools and what not is one of the big supporters of this, and if it's not certified as bill says, by the cfo, then the union won't even bring it to a vote before their membership. that's the first hurdle to get it certified by nat. i think at the end of the day he will certify at that time money will be there to go for teacher bonuses and ca an example reed gave to me, a first year teacher making $40,000 a year goes to an underperforming school and exceeds expectations that,

teacher could go from $40,000 to $70,000 in incentives. so almost doubling their annual salary and the problem with that is, it is progressive but there's not a lot of best practices that show that incentive-based pay for teachers actually flults better grades. >> i'm not so sure. it all sounds good between michelle rhee and george parker. i'm still saying that the teaches are not on the same page with mr. parker. >> you'll be hard pressed in this economy to say no to a 20% pay raise. >> nearly half the bonuses under the fenty administration came from michelle rhee's office, $7.5 million over two years, right? and the problem is, you're looking maybe at your laboratory right there. the bonuses with were handed out. things haven't improved that much relative to the money going out. >> did she get what she needs. >> easier for her to fire teachers. that was one of the things she

waned. >> seniority is the one thing. >> yes. it is one of the things she does not have to look at now. it will be easier for her to move teachers and 0 fire teachers. at the same time, you recall it wasn't too long ago we were talking about more than 250 teachers who were fired. those teachers will get retroactive paychecks. this doesn't help them get their jobs back. but what it does do, if this agreement had been in place prior to that rift, those teachers won't have been as easley fired. >> the politics of this. we've got a mayor's race and the president of the teacher's union is running. >> adrian fenty has doubled down on the michelle rhee phenomenon, his last best chance to keep himself in office. if this thing doesn't go well, he's already position it had where if it collapses he can still blame the unions. i think you're right to keep your eye on that ball. >> it's a big gamble for adrian fenty. >> got to take a break. we'll be right back.

sticking with d.c. politics for a moment, the office of campaign finance has determined that council chair vincent gray did not receive special treatment from a developer who did work on his house last year. gray didn't -- also did not violate campaign finance laws by using official stationary to solicit a donation for the city's democratic party. does this put this issue to rest? >> well, it puts it to rest in the sense there's a headline in the "washington post" that says gray exonerated. he's wasting no time rung around showing that to everybody. and it will be eds for him now to dismiss this during debates and on the campaign trail. the problem that vince gray just does not get about this whole issue is the appearance of impropriety. which he has never acknowledged in getting a huge contractor like chris smith who, while the opinion says doesn't have controversial business before the council, had business before the council that vince gray

voted on. that's appearance he did get a deal. he did pay for this but only after the reporter started asking questions. >> jerry, bill, do you agree with that. >> i agree with you whole hartedly but image is everything. you just said it. exonerated. the "washington post" headlines. vincent gray is looked upon as the homey. the homie in the neighborhood >> he use that had word. bill? >> the great thing about the "washington post" was you never know what page you'd find the page one story on. they managed to put at the end he did solicit donations from verizon -- comcast on city council stationary and that the democratic party was running a slush fund. >> that's the interesting part about the whole decision. in the same breath, the campaign finance office is saying, vince gray did nothing wrong by using d.c. stationary to solicit funds but the democratic party which

ran the fund did do something sfwloong mutually assured destruction here. first of all, the democratic city as you know well. second of all, anytime adrian want to make an issue of this you say tell me about your boy sinclair. >> it's very technical. a voter want services. >> waving the confederate flashings governor bob mcdonnell in virginia apologized for proclaiming april confederate history month without mentioning slavery in the declaration. he says this attract tourism next year to mark the 150th anniversary of the start of the civil war.. >> set off a firestorm among those who said it was just unacceptable. the governor says people thinking about civil rights and the confederacy's role has advanced. has it? >> it depends on what part of virginia you're talking about. northern virginia, alexanderdryia, arlington, virginia, it might be a different song and that what you hear in richmond and say the

lower banks. i think it depends on what part of virginia. racism is still racism in virginia and throughout the united states. >> i think the fact that can virginia went to barack obama, the first democrat to the win virginia since 1964 is a strong indication we may be putting to rest the long civil war that didn't really end in 1865. to the extent that history is an ongoing argument and should be. >> it's about history. >> history is an argument. you cannot approach any historical work without some kind of argument. to that extent these kinds of controversies do shed light on a broader picture. but there are a lot of people who get the feeling that a mask slipped when a routine proclamation like that, bread and butter for the republicans for a long time sort of skipped past the whole slavery deal. >> you know, what disappoints too, it's one more piece of the quilt of his social agenda that people who were opposed to

governor mcdonnell during the election warned about. they said look, this guy will be anti-gay, he'll be, you know, a very conservative on social agenda. and what we have seen is that you know, some of his first official business was to take the wording of sexual orientation out of the ant anti-diskrimfation policy that the state has. he caught some flack for that and did a little damage after that. i think that's what people are going to take from this. >> it isn't over because cuccinelli is down the hall. >> jerry, bill, mark, thanks so much. thanks for being with us tomorrow. stay with us now. "news4 today" continues. >> overwhelming grief. poland is in mourning after a

national tragedy. the president killed in a plane crash along with the country's top political, military and church leaders. how poland is trying to overcome its sudden leadership vacuum. good morning, everyone. welcome to "news4 today." i'm aaron gilchrist. it is sunday, april 11th, 2010. the news is just ahead. first a quick look at forecast. meteorologist justin drabick is standing in for chuck bell in storm center4 for us. chuck -- justin, i'm not going to toss to you anymore. you just start talking when you pop up, okay? >> no problem at all. great finish to the weekend again today. are you going to love today as temperatures will be even warmer well into the 70s. not a bad start to your sunday morning right now. we have clear skies. temperatures a few degrees up and that where we were yesterday. a few locations are in the 30s across the virginia piedmont heading out toward the mountains. frost advisory remains in effect till 8:00 this morning.

generally lower 40s. lots of sunshine. will warm us back to the 50s. by noontime well into the 60s. our highs topping off into the mid-70s for the hot spots today. we'll start to see the clouds increase ahead of the next cold front that swings through. we'll talk about those changes coming up in the full forecast in a few more minutes. >> justin, thank you. >> all right. >> a week of mourning has been declared in poland. tens of thousands of polish citizens lined the streets of the capital to pay tribute to their president killed early saturday morning in an airliner crash. there are reports that the pilot had been warned that fog was too thick to land. robert moore reports now from warsaw. >> reporter: thousands of poles are maintaining their emotional vigil in central warsaw. taking strength from this display of national solidarity. amid a tragedy that has so shaken this country.

the presidential plane crashed in thick midmorning fog. apparently the pilot had rejected advice to divert and was making his fourth attempt to land. the burning wreckage remains scattered in a forest just a mile from smolensk airport. even as russian rescue teams arrived, it was clear there could be no survivors. lost in the debris, so much of poland's leadership. not just president kaczynski but also many others. in warsaw, soon after the news broke, thousands came to the presidential palace to light candles, and to pray. many were visibly distressed. >> so terrible that the most important polish people just

died. >> like many young poles, you seem very shocked. >> i am shocked still. i really don't know what to think about it. i mean, it's such a big loss and came so suddenly. >> one of the ironies here is that president kaczynski and his delegation were on their way to commemorate an earlier catastrophe, the wartime massacre by soviet forces. poland is coming to terms with a fresh tragedy being widely described as its worst disaster since world war ii. robert moore, itv news, warsaw. >> family and friends are mourning the loss of 29 mipers killed in the worst u.s. coal mining disaster in 40 years. crews are continuing to bring out the bodies inside the upper big branch mine in west virginia. rescuers actually walked past bodies of the four missing miners on the first day but never saw them through the smoke and debris until yesterday.

>> this has been a very heavy hearted community holding on to a fragile thread of hope. when that thread broke, the pain was excruciating. >> the investigation into what caused the explosion started yesterday. a team of federal investigators will arrive in west virginia tomorrow. the investigation could take up to a year. a dramatic scene in prince george's county. neighbors went door to door warning each other about a fire in their seven-story apartment building. this happened friday night and now we've learned disturbing new details. everyone made it out safely despite the fact that no fire alarms sounded. investigators say it wasn't the first time the system has failed. news4's darcy spencer reports. >> reporter: prince george's county fire officials say the condominium building where a two-alarm blaze sent residents fleeing from their units friday night has a history of fire code violations. officials say the fire alarm system did not activate placing

resident's lives in danger. this was not the first time this has happened. >> the condominium complex is no stranger to our fire inspectors and issuing of civil citations. we counted as many as 12 civil citations issued to that complex since july of 2007. >> the blaze started in a fourth floor unit, then spread. residents in nearly 100 condos on all seven floors were evacuated. it was the second fire there in less and that two weeks. condo management was told by the fire marshall's office to correct the fire alarm problems after that fire but it didn't happen. >> good hearted people are running around knocking on the door. i started to ignore it. i'm like wrong door, wrong apartment. something told me to come out and take a look and see and i smelled smoke and that's when i gathered up what i could and ran out. >> the building was cited march 29th for not having a working alarm system.

another order was issued after friday night's fire and the fire marshall office has ordered complex management to maintain a constant watch over the building checking in with fire officials every hour till the repairs are made. >> we think the residents maybe feed to get out and contact condominium management and their board of directors and say what's going on, this is a dangerous situation. >> damage from this latest fire is estimated at $250,000. so far no, cause has been determined. in silver hills, darcy spencer, "news4 today." >> maryland senators passed a bill to legalize medical marijuana but that measure is not expected to pass the house of delegates. senators voted 35-12 on saturday to allow pharmacies to distribute marijuana to patients with a doctor's prescription. after the bill passed, state senator jamie ras kin said "we think this bill offers the most carefully crafted medical marijuana law in the country." it offers legal protection and safe medical access to patients is desperately in need and it

takes every possible measure to prevent abuses. still other lawmakers say the bill has little chance of passing the house of delegates and becoming law. >> rnc chairman michael steele has addressed the faithful trying to put out some of the heat he's been taking. this weekend, republicans are meeting in in other words for the republican southern leadership convention. republicans spread out some big goals in their effort to win back congress in midterm elections while party unity was a theme, chairman steele vaguely acknowledged mistakes. >> you realize very quickly that you can't please everyone. but you can certainly make them all mad at you at the same time. >> steele's been taking public fire from his own side over party spending on fancy hotels, a meeting in hawaii and the $2,000 entertainment by a consultant at a bondage themed club in california. today, getting around the district could be tricky but

starting tomorrow, it could get a whole lot worse. the mt. vernon square metro station will close tonight at 7:00 to prepare for the nuclear summit at the washington convention center. driving restrictions will go into effect as dozens of international leaders gather for the summit. be prepared for delays for rolling closures for motorcades. here's a look at the closures we're talking abouting from "o" street to massachusetts and new york avenues and between 11th and sixth streets beginning at 10:00 tonight. streets reopen tuesday fight at 8:00. time now is 6:39. sarah palin is back. >> better luck next time, gotcha. >> okay, not the real hockey mom but her alter ego. what happened when tina fey reprised her famous role on "saturday night live"".plus, she was one of the most influential american artists of the past century. now a look at georgia o'keefe

like you've never seen her before. will the weekend end on a high note? justin's forecast coming up.

>> thank you, jason. that jason. is he so nice. and i love the way his hair really knows where it want to go. just like him.

i wonder why he's so nice to me. it's almost like he's flirting. that's ridiculous, sharon. what would he want with an older lady like you? i don't have anything to offer. >> all right. yeah, okay. that was comedienne and actress tina fey having fun with justin bieber on "saturday night live"" this weekend. she also repriced her role as sarah palin. the star did a sketch about palin having her own tv network. >> well? >> do you hate gotcha journalism? well get ready for hey journalists, i gotcha you. i reedit my interviews with journalists to look like they were the ones unprepared. so katie what, newspapers do you read? it's an easy question, katie.

well, better luck next time. gotcha. >> that was tina fey's second time hosting snl. her last season as a cast bheb was in 2006. faye left to develop her current show "30 rock" which has been a hit on nbc. georgia o'keefe was one of the most important american artists of the last century. now here in washington, we have the privilege of seeing more than 100 paintings she cleated when she was in her 20s and just starting to explore the abstract shapes and bold colors that would become her signature. it is now showing at the phillips collection. wendy rieger reports. >> this isn't o'keefe in the desert. it is o'keefe in her youth, a woman in her 20s in new york whose artistry was starting to ripen. >> i'm still startled when i see these works. you get to really, as i said, really see o'keefe in a new way.

>> we see her first charcoals where she played with this curling shape that would appear again and again in her works. >> there's sort of the basic vocabulary that recurs through her work, certain shapes she says she sees in her head. >> and her colors rampant, emotional and pulsating. they would become part of her language. this exhibit shows you how radical georgia o'keefe was from the start. she would take an image and find its visual essence. a flower devolves into sensual curves that make us wonder what we're really seeing. >> she's not trying to show you an exact replica of what that particular flower looked like but that she's distilled that down and really responding to the flower and convey toug more of an emotional response. >> she was a young artist plagued with doubt if those early days. that's where alfred steeg lets enters the picture, the

photographer who influenced her pep became her lover and then her husband. this exhibit has some of the pictures he took of his wife, including the nudes that created a sensation in 1920s new york when they went on display. >> sill mund freud's ideas about sexuality were very hot in the air at that time in 1990, he had come to the united states for a tour. so alfred stig lets was reading freud. she was a woman in a male dominated art world. >> soon the images that o'keefe had so carefully crafted became sexually charged. this exhibit has some of o'keefe's more familiar works, alongside her more radical, ground breaking early art. it's exciting to watch her evolve. >> she's really like any, you know, aspiring artist searching for that validation, looking for input that what she is saying and the way she's saying it is striking people. >> i think that she's humanized actually in a way through the

exhibition. i think that that's something i hope comes across. >> georgia o'keefe lived for almost 100 years and we were intrigued. we have enjoyed her journey. but here at the phillips collection, we are allowed to accompany her as she makes her entrance. wendy rieger, news4. >> beautiful work. the exhibition runs through may 9th. it is 6:47 right now. when we come back, another look at your forecast.

i cook twice a week at the fire station. i'd pick up a lot of the work around the house, the chores, the kids, the shopping, the cooking. i have two teenagers,

and i'll be putting them through college someday soon. i'm very aware of what things cost, and, you know, i have to use all the money-saving tricks that i can come up with. with compare & save at giant, we search local competitors' prices and show you the difference right on the shelf. using the compare & save, i know that i'm getting a good price, and that works for me. more savings, every time you shop, only at giant.

>> welcome back. it's 6:50. let's get a quick look at our forecast. justin draw bik is in storm center4. >> a nice looking forecast. yesterday seasonal with highs in the 60s. today we can call it warm. we'll be back in the 70s about a good ten degrees above average. live check outside. looking spectacular. clear skies. sun is up now. a nice reflection off the glassy waters as the winds are fairly calm. a nice day to head out on the potomac or go outside and enjoy the nice weather once again. yesterday, somewhat of a little bit i've chill. today certainly on the warm side. our official temperature right now, 47 at national airport. light southwest breeze coming in about five miles per hour. record high for this date, it was on the hot side, 91 set back in 1930. nowhere near record-like

temperatures this afternoon. just very comfortable. great way it finish off the weekend. things will be changing though as we start workweek. certainly enjoy today. mainly 40s right now as far as regional temperatures. still a few 30s towards the shenandoah valley and towards the mountains, the frost advisory remains in effect till 8:00 this morning. it was a chilly start with the clear skies and light winds allowing the temperatures to drop off. all the heat escapes back to the atmosphere. lots of warmth building out towards the central u.s. that warmer air will be on its way eastward this afternoon. plenty of clear skies over us right now. that strong april sun will certainly heat us up. not too far to the north across the southern of new york, a few clouds and rain showers associated with the next cold front which will sag its way southward overfight. a nice wind today. enjoy it. once the front passed tonight,

early morning, we'll see clouds with it. the rainfall will be at a minimum. this should come through dry. waking up early monday, a few clouds around. by the afternoon, we should see increasing sunshine. tuesday, might have to watch another disturbance could bring a couple light rain showers. for today, mostly sunny, warmer, low to mid-70s for high temperatures. monday a little bit cooler behind the front. the coldest shot of air comes in on tuesday at 63. wednesday, back up to 65 for the high temperatures. by the end of the week, we are talking about highs warming back up to the upper 60s. maybe touching 70. slight chances of rain that move back into the picture for friday. >> just slight chances though. >> as of now, yes. >> we'll take it. tiger woods is looking for a comeback. hakem dermish has your sports. >> good morning. super sunday at the masters is set. englishman lee westwood is at the top of the leaderboard but he's got company, the kind of

company you would break out egyptian cotton for. phil mickelson one shot behind westwood, tiger woods four shoots behind. we're in augusta, georgia. tiger woods trying to make a move yesterday on moving day. here on number 1 putting for birdie. this is vintage tiger. hangs on the edge and then it drops. augusta roars, so does tiger at 8 under. however, he's never won a major when trailing after 54 who else. either has this guy but this was good. phil mickelson eagles 13. this is the approach on 14 and this is awesome. back-to-back eagles. just the third player in masters history to do that. mickelson one shot behind the leader. here's 50-year-old fred couples on 15, his third shot chipping from just off the green. gets that to go. he's still in contention at minus 7. and then they're all chasing this man. lee westwood, leader after two rounds, leader after three rounds now.

second shot on the par 5 15th from 221 yards out. he's going to like this and fans, you'll like it, too. he birdies the whole and leads at 12 under. phil mickelson and tiger woods right on his heels. >> i just want to put myself in contention and i did that. as of right now, i'm only 4 back. good round tomorrow, you never know. >> i haven't played this well in a long time. i feel like my game's as good as it's been. i'm looking forward to it. i love this tournament more than any other. i love sunday being in contention. today was a good day. i shot a good number that got me right in and i'm excited about sunday. >> phil mickelson tees off in the final group at 2:40. tiger woods tees off in the final round of the masters. friday night the wizards beat the celtics. last night taking on the hawks who have won eight straight against washington. at verizon center, capital center, nicolas back strom

courtside taking in the game. black with the ball. drives right past al horford. thank you very much. he went for a team high 24 points. wizards down 52-50 at the break. >> mike miller passed marvin williams for the nifty reverse layup. miller added 16 points but down the stretch, the wizards couldn't stop atlanta's jamal crawford. hits the three-pointer. plus he gets fouled. crawford scored 12 of his 28 points in the final quarter. 105-95. talking baseball now. two guys named willie willed the nats to victory against the mets. tavares drove in an rbi. and willie harris made the catch of the day. no score, willie tavares up with two on and two out. he delivers big-time. drives it deep to left center off the wall in the gap. two runs are going to score. tavares cruises into third with

a two-rbi triple. >> nationals take a 2-0 lead. tavares finished with a career high four rbi. bottom nine. we've got drama. matt caps facing barajas. a shot to left here. check out willie harris. oh, yes. folks, it's glovely. a game ending diving catch. harris said once he hit it, my mind was made up, willie, make this happen. he did. the nats win their second game of the year, 4-3 the final. d.c. united up the road in philadelphia last night trying to spoil the team's inaugural home opener. look who's at the game. vice president joe biden. second half, 69th minute. d.c. united trailing 2 oil 1. chris sites looking downfield. check out moreno. stays with him. sites trying to kick it away but loses it. moreno steals it. that was sweet. and scores. one of the best plays you're going to see all season right

there. game tied at two. 79th minute now. same score. sebastian la to you with a free kick. he rips it into the back of the net. he had a hat trick. d.c. united fall to the union, 3-2, the final. >> that's your morning sports. i'm hakem dermish. have a great day. >> thank you for joining us this hour. we'll be back in 2 1/2 minutes with a look at the day's top stories and the forecast and news 4's "viewpoint." stay with us.

we're never gonna catch anything. patience, son. ah! [ female announcer ] sometimes, you can get so much out of so little. woohoo! [ female announcer ] especially when it comes to charmin ultra soft. its ultra soft design is soft and absorbent. it has so much absorbency, you can use 7 sheets versus 28 of the leading value brand. so your family can get more out of less. mom's never gonna believe this one. [ female announcer ] charmin ultra soft. enjoy the go.

and good morning, everyone. welcome to "news4 today." i'm aaron gilchrist. kimberly is off today. it's sunday, april 11, 2010. first a quick look at the day's forecast. justin drabick is standing in for chuck bell in storm center4. the warmup is coming. >> that's right. we are looking at a great forecast today. a great way to end the weekend with temperatures soaring back into the 70s. it will be short-lived. we'll talk about changes coming in later tonight. just envoy today, waking up right now, looking at mainly low to mid 40s. it is warmer along the waters, chesapeake and potomac in the 50s. inland locations have dipped

down into the 30s. frost advisory remains in effect for the shenandoah valley till 8:00 this morning. for today, plenty of sunshine. high clouds start to move in late during the afternoon. very warm. nice. 70 to 76 for the high temperature. we're going to talk about temperatures knocked back down into the 60s tonight for the upcoming workweek. still that is average for this time of year. great looking forecast. >> thank you, justin. >> in the news today, a week of mourning has been declared in poland. president lech kaczynski, his wife and numerous other officials were killed in a plane crash in western russia yesterday. the pilot had rejected advice to divert and making his fourth attempt to land in heavy fog. maryland senators passed a bill to legalize medical marijuana but that measure is not expected to pass the house of delegates. senators voted 35-12 on saturday to allow pharmacies to distribute marijuana to patients with a doctor's prescription. still other state lawmakers say

the bill has little chance of becoming law. >> getting around the district tonight could be tricky but starting tomorrow, it could be a lot worse. the mt. vernon square metro station will close tonight at 7:00 to prepare for the nuclear security summit at the washington convention center. driving restrictions will go into effect as dozens of international leaders gather for that summit. be prepare ford delays with rolling closures for motorcades. those are some of the stories making news today. next is nbc4's viewpoint. we'll be back in a few minutes with an update. >> good morning, everyone. welcome to "viewpoint." i'm jim handly. our topic today, spirit to youity and medicine. our guests in the studio this morning are dr. robert williams, senior attending physician, howard university hospital and glenda hodges, director of community relations and support services for howard university hospital. welcome backing to "viewpoint" to both of you.

we appreciate it. this is such a fascinating topic and every year it becomes more popular to talk about. let's first of all define this concept of spirituality and medicine, a growing number of physicians and people in the religious community are practicing or investigating studying this. what does it mean, this concept? >> when we talk about spirituality and medicine, we really are concerning ourselves with those things that we believe give meaning to our lives as individuals. faith, hope, your ability to overcome on stackals and challenges and then how do you translate that with the scientific side. the whole notion of what the physician provides in terms of his ability to give you a prognosis or diagnosis in the event of an illness. when the two come together, if you were diagnosed say with a terminal illness, for instance, how do you translate that which gives meaning to your life to

that particular challenge or obstacle that you have that makes you or allows you to even maintain hope in the face of adverse situations. >> dr. williams, you've been at howard university hospital for about 40 years now, right? you have seen this evolve and change. are you seeing more and more physicians coming on board with this idea, this theory of. >> yes. >> integrating spirituality? >> absolutely. it's a national movement that's taken on accelerated impetus across the country, and we're very proud at howard to have introduced this to the local community as such, and we vin corporated it in the training of our physicians and other health care professionals. and it is very definitely part of the healing process. i mean, you know, medicine at its best is to attempt to relieve suffering. and if we incorporate as if is and health care professionals the concept, we recognize a patient's spiritual side, the patient want that incorporated in their care, we find that very

helpful in the healing process. yes. >> let's talk about how it is helpful. tangibly. for example, pain relief. preparation for surgery, post op. rehabilitation, things like that. how does it come into play and do you actually see it working? >> well, the research indicates that physicians or persons in the scientific arena who have actually reconciled or come to an understanding of their own spiritual side, in other words, what is it as a health care provider, what is it that makes me feel that i am able to withstand odds or to overcome adverse situations or challenges. when i'm able to reconcile that, then i'm able to use whatever it is that i can use to give my patients hope in the midst of whatever they're going through. now, dr. williams can probably speak to the way it impacts patients in his practice, but i

can tell you on the spiritual side when we've dealt with parishioners in the church environment who have, say, been given a diagnosis of something that was really, really bad, say a cancer or a stage four cancer or something, they have with their spiritual side been able to go through the chemotherapy, the radiation with a lot more of a positive kind of disposition because the faith side of them, the hope side of them begins to come forth while they are taking the prescribed regimen of treatment that the physician has prescribed. >> you mentioned positive. i'll ask you, dr. williams -- the whole nature of someone's outlook or attitude as they approach medical issue they may be facing. does it make a difference? >> it does make a difference and it's very important. what i see and many other physicians the connection between spirituality in medicine when it's incorporated in the caring, healing process.

if you just look at people who are spiritually oriented they have in general a better lifestyle, more preventive medicine. that's where we know that's the best medicine. they tend to have excellent lifestyle habits. and to take care of themselves, less disease, better outcomes. in general, those patient who's do have a disease, and that's the way our society is focused, taking care of the disease, that patient copes better. feels better. and we know from a neuro endocrine standpoint probably has processes in the immune system that functions a little better. we've got a long way to go in that research but we can see the patients do better. >> in terms of a faster recovery perhaps? >> yes. >> how tough is it to quantify and to do research on this? >> that's part of the problem. with the whole notion of understanding the connection,

spirituality is not something that you can count and or measure. as we do protocols on the science side of the house, when you talk about a person's faith, it has to be based on the experience, the challenges, the circumstances that you have been able to overcome. that builds your faith and that strengthens your hope. so when you go through something, you have some kind of past experience that says, i can do this because i did it before. i lost my job. i was unemployed for a while but then i kept believing i was going to get employment and di. if that happens again, then i have a different outlook. as dr. williams says it, kangz your whole outlook and helps the patient understand that because the diagnosis is a bad one doesn't mean that it's necessarily going to be the end of life. but we have found in the research that the whole protocol, the idea of trying to measure spirituality has been

such a challenge. so a lot of physicians are embracing it, but embracing it with a sense of caution because of the whole science side of them. >> we've got a lot more to talk about. i want to put up on our screen right now a phone number and website, too. you've got a big seminar coming up. we can find out more after this break. the number is 202-865-775. that's the 13th annual spirituality and medicine seminar beginning april 15th

♪ [ female announcer ] discover black silk from folgers... ♪ with bold rich flavor that's exceptionally smooth. wake up to black silk. >> and welcome back to "viewpoint." our topic today, spirituality and medicine. and we were talking during the break about terminal cases or end of life cases. and how it's supplied there to those types of cases where it's not a surgery where you know the outcome is going to work out fine, but someone who may be facing terminal cancer, for instance. >> yes. >> how do you apply this to that? >> well, we in a very practical

way, we try to apply it and apply it increasingly at howard and train our young doctors. just yesterday, a patient, family, we find that the patient is terminally ill. patient recognizes that. family does, too. then the healing power of that patient's spiritual side, the members of clergy coming in, the church community has an uplifting spiritually transce transcending aspect of treatment. and becomes more important perhaps and that anything we as physicians are doing i mean that's a beautiful process to see. the peace that comes out of that and the healing that comes out of that. so that's the goal of medicine. so spirituality helps to heal, let's use it. >> we were talking about working with clergy and the patient and the doctor, too. but families i would think, this is so critical for them too. >> absolutely. dr. williams always says when you take care of the patient, you take care of the family as a family physician. but we try to talk to patients

before they get to the end of life about planning. the whole notion of what you would like to have done if you're unable to talk about it or just speak for yourself. so we advocate doing advanced planning. having an advance directive. having a medical power of attorney, somebody that you have already given your information regarding your last wishes, what it is you would want to have done. maybe you don't want to be resuscitated. you've written that order. you don't want to be intubated so that the person who are able to provide the care such as dr. williams will not do anything that would be adverse who-to-what you have asked for. so in terms of the family, i think to the extent that we can get the family to understand that it is the patient that we're caring for, we try to care for the family as well, but at the end of life, it's very difficult because nobody want to

leave or to see their loved ones leave. if our faith is such that we believe there's something on the other side, we can catch hold of the faith but nobody's gone on and come back and told us how good it was. we have to take all of that on faith. >> you were telling me earlier that it's not religion, per se. this is something different or it could incorporate religion. >> it could. >> and very easley could but it's about a spirituality, a sense of faith. >> that's right. >> or hope? >> that's right. spirituality is not religion but it may include religious practices. spirituality has to do with that that you believe gives meaning to your life. your sense of hope, your sense of connectedness to a power that is greater and that you. now, that may translate in your life to church attendance, practicing certain rituals. that's religion. religion has to do with ordered ritual. but all spiritual people are not religious. some people who have very spiritual don't necessarily have

a defined practice of a particular religion. but that does not in any way negate their spirituality. so we make the distinction at the hospital and at the college of medicine, we're not trying to proselytize but saying to you we want you to understand and go within yourself and find that that you can connect with, that that you can hold on to that will help you go through whatever the challenges are that you will face in terms of your physical state and all of us are going to face some challenges. >> sure, that's a given. you're exactly right. that's part of life. tell us a little bit about this seminar that we have coming up. three days and you have seen this grow from infancy 13 years ago. >> that's right. >> it's going to be happening starting on april 15th. you're drawing if doctors and clergy from all over the country. is that right? what will we see next week? >> well, let me go back for a minute and tell you, jim, 13 years ago, dr. williams and i

were so moved by our having attended some conferences that we starred attending at harvard. mind, body medicine. and we thought about the impact that it made on us just looking at how spirituality and medicine were actually coming together and so we did that two years consecutively. we attended the conferences and took some short courses and decide that had we would come back and implement the same thing at howard university and howard university hospital. so 13 years ago, we started with our first seminar. we called it spirituality of medicine, can the two walk together. it was a one-day seminar. we invited physicians and we invited members of the clergy and all we did was sit and we dialogued about how the physician could help the preacher and how the preacher could help the physician or the spiritual person could help the physician. what kinds of challenges were there, what kinds of things did we agree on, what kinds of differences did we have.

so each year we started to continue the dialogue. so now we've been dialoguing for 13 years. >> sure. >> and we've covered a lot of different topics. we've talked about prayer and medicine. we've talked about faith, the power that works in you. we've talked about end of life, meeting the neestds terminally ill. we've talked about physician clergy burnout, how do you handle the stress side of it. this year we're talking about restoring the temple. >> i want to get to that. we've got to take a break right now. i want to talk about that and what it means as well as the two books you've got right here when we come right back on "viewpoint." so stick around with us, please.

good morning. i'm aaron gilchrist. in the news too, a sund says she was attacked at georgetown

university. this happened at the copley residence hall friday night. the woman told police she was talking from her room down to the basement when a stranger put one hand over her mouth and the other over her shirt. no suspect identified. we've learned the identity of the woman who died outside a shooting at a restaurant in prince george's county. cynthia deshawn aaron died at the hospital. people were called to the parking lot of andrews restaurant early yesterday morning. >> today is the final day of the cherry blossom festival. here's a look at the japanese street festival from yesterday. today runners take their mark for the 10 k run and 5 k walk. that's a look at our headlines. now back to "viewpoint." >> and welcome back, everyone to, "viewpoint." we're talking about spirituality and medicine this morning.

let's talk about physicians and their role in this and how it's being incorporated more and more in their dmaks medical school, but not everybody's on board with this. is that fair to say? >> that's very fair to say. if we go back from a historical perspective when physicians had little science, they relied more on faith and reassurance and being support i be, the art of medicine, if you will. in the last 50 years, more science, more technology and that we have a product of that young physicians who they worship at the altar of the technology and they forget the aspect of the combination of the art and the skichbs medicine. so have you many patient who's feel, i got no doctor who really knows me or cares about me. the secret to caring for a patient to quote physician from many years ago, francis peabody at harvard, highly trained coming to the end of his life. he says you know, the secret to

caring for the patient even though i know i'm come together end of my life is to care for the patient. really care. i don't see that. i see doctors coming, taking care of my diseased organs. >> right. >> but i don't see the care that another human being needs from physicians. >> we often hear about traditionally bedside manner. that doc has a good bedside manner. that one doesn't. is there a tradeoff there. but is that part of what we're talking about here, a little beyond bedside manner, grant you, but somebody who relates to that person and what they're dealing with on a whole different level. >> go ahead. >> caring for the patient as dr. williams said. sometimes doctors are, i believe, a bit disappointed maybe or they feel that they should have been able to find something that may be is causing the patient situation to progress rapidly. they feel that the technology is not what it should have been and they weren't able to do what

they could have done. but i think that we have to understand that life as dr. williams says so often life naturally as a beginning, a middle and an end. and so caring for the patient means just that, may not be able to cure even with all the science and all the technology but you can always care. and what does that caring mean? it means sometimes listening to the patient. it means going and sitting if there's time for you to do that and allowing him or her to tell you their story because at the end of life, people often want to go back and remember when. so if you have an kind of time or if somebody on the staff has that time, that's healing for the patient. even though it's not curing, it's caring for the patient. >> you raised a phrase before the break "restoring the temple." that's going to be incorporated in this week's seminars. what do we mean by that. >> we're talking about those things that actually will allow the patient and the parishioner an opportunity to be restored.

and when you say restoration, you're merely talking about energizing, invigorating, kind of coming back together again, physicians get burntout. clergy persons get burnt out. what ways do you use to ru juvnate yourselves. we're going to talk about massage therapy and relaxation, the whole skichbs kinesiology. you ought to get some exercise sometime during the week. we're going to talk about meditation. how you eliminate calm, confusion and restore calm in your life. we're talking about music therapy. there's a lot of research on music therapy, nutrition, maintaining optimal health. are you what you eat. what are you putting in your system and then we're going to just talk about how you harness all of your energy through health awareness. do you get your yearly checkups, do you do your wellness examination. the preventive. >> when we hear this word holistic and ho lis tig

approach, that's got to be part of this, too. i hear there are ways to actually lower blood pressure through meditation oreo ga or exercise does it for that mat tier. >> absolutely. i mean, there are changes within the body. we're just at the early aspect of the scientific measurement of these, but the hormone surges that determine how well we fight off disease, how well we maintain ourselves, all of that is within this connection between the mind, body and spirit. and i like to tell the medical students, the doctors 100 years from now are going to know much more about this area and that what we know now and it's going to be even more of the comprehensive part of caring for patients. >> we'll look back and say, will we be here. >> but jim, it's like the physiological changes that happen with the body when you are praying for meditating or when you're calm. >> sure. >> that's the kind of thing that we're talking about.

we can't always measure that. but we know that after you've had an opportunity to just destress and get in an area where perhaps there is not the kinds of things that were going on during the day, you can shut the outside world out. your blood pressure goes down. that's a natural packet. >> we know what's happening. >> but the research piece of it is still, we're still not there with it. but we know that these conferences over the years have allowed us to talk with physicians and ministers and i think i mentioned to you earlier that when we brought the physicians in last year in the summit, they were physicians who were also members of the clergy. they were both sides of the house and it was a very interesting dialogue. >> before we go to our next break, let's put up the phone number and website, too. your seminar begins on april 15th. 202-65-7775. that's web address, too. this is the 13th annual spirituality and medicine seminar series right here in

washington. stay with us. .

>> welcome back this morning to "viewpoint." our topic again is spirituality and medicine. want to hold up two books, if we can. one is called "spirituality and medicine," can the two walk together. we also have a handbook, too. tell us who the handbook is for. >> for physicians and members of clergy, somewhat like the pocket pda that the physicians carry around. it will allow the physician an opportunity to try to translate some of these concepts that we've introduced in the first book, the science side of the house. so how do you help the patient, you can pull your handbook out and talk about end of life issues if you need to. same thing with the clergy person. how do you help the parishioner going through challenging illness, going through chemo or whatever. how do you talk to the parishioner who's on dialysis.

pull the handbook out. >> this is a growing phenomenon. it's being incorporated in more and more medical schools as part of the training. >> case in point, we we started 13 years ago, it was in a handful of medical schools. now of the 175 medical schools, it's into 100. so it's growing. it's being incorporated as part of the training of physicians in these medical schools across the country. >> let me ask one thing. you've convinced a doctor. a doctor is on board with this and very much a believer. he's seen evidence, he or she has. what if the patient doesn't come from a religious or spiritual background? can they be convinced that this is an outlook to use in their therapy or recovery? >> as a physician, we don't proselytize or force anyone. it's the patient's choice. if the patient want to

incorporate it in their care, we respect it. it's not but. it's about the patient. >> remember, we said earlier if the physician himself or herself has reconciled their spiritual side, if you feel as the caregiver that you have some sense of whatever it is in your life that gives meaning, 80s easier for you to translate that to your patient without having to get in any religious conversation or that kind of thing. >> an inspiring morning. we want to thank you both and to mention again this seminar begins on the 15th. going to be held where. >> at the grand hyatt hotel downtown washington. we will outgrew howard university. it is a good thing. now we're at the grand ryate. >> how many are you expecting. >> upward of 1,000 people. >> from all over the country. >> from everywhere from, all over. >> calculations. it's a fascinating topic. we thank you both and thank you for watching. enjoy the rest of your weekend, everybody.

>> a somber nation, poland is grieving after a devastating plane crash. the president killed along with top political, military and church leader. how that country is trying to cope with its sudden loss of leadership. welcome back to "news4 today." i'm aaron gilchrist. it's sunday, april 11th, 2010. the news is just ahead. first a quick look at the day's forecast. justin drabick is standing by in storm center4 with another really nice day. >> very nice day, aaron. we are looking good today. no problems as far as the weather today. mostly sunny skies. clear conditions right now if you are just stepping outside. need the sunglasses. bright sunshine. temperatures warming up slowly through the low to mid 40s. still a few selected areas probably down into the 30s in the cold spots.

a few degrees warmer and that yesterday at this time. a nice afternoon soaring back up into the mid-70s for the warm spot today. plenty of sun. i think late in the afternoon we'll start to see how clouds increase ahead of the next cold front. we'll have all the details coming up in a few more minutes. >> thanks. we are following some breaking news out of the of the solomon islands this morning where a major earthquake struck early this morning. the u.s. geological survey says it was a 7.2 magnitude quake. however, scientists do not think there is a threat of a tsunami. the islands are a country of nearly 1,000 islands east of papua new guinea. a week of mourning has been declared in poland. tens of thousands of polish citizens lined the streets of capital to pay tribute to their president killed early saturday morning in a airliner crash. there are reports the pilot had been warned that fog was too

thick to land. robert moore reports now from warsaw. >> reporter: thousands of poles are maintaining their emotional vigil in central warsaw. taking strength from this display of national solidarity amid a tragedy that has so shaken this country. the presidential plane crashed in thick midmorning fog. apparently the pilot had rejected advice to divert. and was making his fourth attempt to land. the burning wreckage remained scattered in a forest just a mile from smolensk airport. even as russian rescue teams arrived, it was clear there could be no survivors. lost in the debris, so much of poland's leadership. not just president kaczynski, but also many others, in warsaw, soon after the news broke, thousands came to the

presidential palace to light candles and to pray. ♪ >> many were visibly distressed. >> so terrible that the polish -- the most important polish people just died. >> like many young poles, you seem very shocked. >> i am shocked still. i really don't know what to think about it. i mean, it's such a big loss and it just came so suddenly. >> one of the ironies here is that president kaczynski and his delegation were on their way to commemorate an earlier catastrophe, the wartime massacre of polish officers by soviet force. poland is coming to terms as a fresh tragedy, being described as its worst disaster since world war ii. robert moore, itv news, warsaw. >> the speaker of poland's parliament says he will announce early elections within two

weeks. that's required under the corrupt's constitution. >> here in washington, the polish embassy is now dotted with bow kaz of flowers fror the president. those paying respects included members of the local polish, community and others who wanted to offer codole lens. the ambassador says kaczynski is remembered as part of the political party that helped separate poland from soviet dominance >> he represented the generation of freedom, the freedom connected permanently with the legacy of solidarity movement. >> the polish embassy is inviting anyone who want to pay their respects to sign a book of condolences. it will be open today from noon till 5:00 and monday through friday from 10:00 a.m. till 6:00 p.m. >> of family and friends are mourning the loss of 29 miners killed in the worst u.s. mine,

coal mining disaster in 40 years. crews are continuing to bring out the bodies inside the upper big branch mine in west virginia. we've learned rescuers actually walked past the body of the missing four miners on the first day but never saw them through the smoke and debris until yesterday. >> this has been a very heavy hearted community holding on to a very, very fragile thread of hope. when that thread broke, the pain was excruciating. >> the investigation into what caused the explosion started yetds. a team of federal investigators will arrive in west virginia tomorrow. the investigation could take up to a year. one person is dead and five others injured after a shooting at a popular mall in oklahoma. this happened at the arrowhead mall in muskie geel yesterday afternoon. shoppers were told to evacuate at the time. it's not weather the teen killed was a by stander or part what have witnesses described as a gun fight.

>> a dramatic scene in prince georges county. neighbors went door to door warning each other about a fire in their seven-story apartment building. this happened on friday night and now we've learned disturbing new details. everyone made it out safely despite the fact that no fire alarms sounded. but investigators say it wasn't first time the system has failed. darcy spencer reports. >> prince george's county fire officials say the condominiumable where a two-alarm blaze sent hundreds of residents fleeing from their unitses friday night has a history of fire code violations. officials say the fire alarm system did not activate. and this was not the first time that's what happened. >> the condominium complex is no stranger to our fire inspectors and issuing of civil citations and kreksz orders. we counted as many as 12 civil citations issued to that complex since july of 2007. >> the blades started in a

fourth floor unit, then spread. residents in nearly 100 condos on all seven floors were evacuated. it was the second fire there in less tan two weeks. management was told to correct the fire alarm problems after that fire, but it didn't happen. >> good hearted people running around knocking on the door. and i started to ignore it. i'm like wrong door, wrong apartment. something told me to come out and take a look and see and i smelled smoke and that's when i gathered up what i could and ran out. >> the earlier fire happened march 29th. the building was cited at that time for not having a working fire alarm system. another correction order was issued after friday night's fire. and the fire marshall's office has ordered complex management to maintain a constant watch over the building checking in with fire officials every hour until those repairs are paid. >> we think also the residents maybe need to get out and contact condominium management and their board of directors and say hey, what's going on. this is a dangerous situation. >> damage from this latest fire

is estimated at $250,000 so far. no cause has been determined. in silver hills, darcy spencer, "news4 today." >> a 2-year-old boy died after falling from the third story window of a home. this happened at a townhouse in on heritage oak court in reston, virginia. police say the child fell through a screen. police say the child's parents were home at the time, and this appears to be a tragic accident. today, getting around the district could be tricky but starting tomorrow it could be a whole lot worse. the mt. vernon square metro station will close tonight to prepare for the nuclear security summit. also driving restrictions will go into effect as dozens of global leaders will gather for that summit. be prepared for delays with rolling closures for motorcades. here's a look at the street closures from o street to massachusetts and new york abknews and between 11th and

sixth streets beginning at 10:00 tonight. streets we open on tuesday at 8:00. >> the time now is 7:39. >> better luck next time, gotcha. >> tina fey back on "saturday night live"" taking on sarah palin. don't worry if you missed it. we've got the laughs for you coming up. then a warning for those of you who use facebook. the virus that could put you and your friends at rick. and it's a gorgeous sunday morning. what about the workweek though? justin's forecast is just ahead.

it's definitely expensive having a growing family. and it's something that you think about. we try to be conscious of that and plan out our meals so that we can feed everyone on a budget. at giantwe know saving money is important. every time you shop with your card, you can enjoy thousands of real deal savings and weekly specials. like super g boneless chicken breasts, $1.99 a pound, and strawberries, 2-pound carton, $2.99. this week only. it makes me feel good because we're saving money. and that works for me. only with your giant card.

>> thank you, jason. that jason, he is so nice. and i love the way his hair really knows where it want to go. always forward, just like him. >> okay. that was dmecomedienne and actr tina fey. faye repriced her role as sarah palin and did a sketch about palin having her own tv network. >> do you hate gotcha journalism? well get ready for hey journalists, i gotcha. i reedit my interviews with journalists to make them look like they were the ones that

were woefully unprepared. so katie what, newspapers do you read? it's an easy question, katie. well, better luck next time. gotcha. >> that was tina fey's second time hosting snl. her last season as a cast member there was in 2006. faye left to develop her very popular current show, "30 rock." next up on nbc4 is the "today" show. it starts at 8:00. lesser holt joins us live from new york with a preview. good morning, lester. >> aaron, good to see you. coming up, we'll have the latest from poland on the lane crash that killed the country's president and many prominent leaders in poland being remembered in church services throughout that country. we'll have an update on the boy sent back to russia by his adoptive mother here in the u.s. this morning what neighbors are saying about that mother. plus, we're going to pete a teenager who's about to become the youngest mayor in the state

of wisconsin, just 19 years old. and finally ruby the comeback dog and her remarkable tale of survival. aaron, back to you now in washington. >> thanks, lester. >> a warning now for facebook users. be careful what you click on it could ruin your computer. the virus called koob face is also targeting twitter. mary peyton explains. and net stewart spent at least three hours a day on facebook. >> before it was just mainly to communicate withriends and although i still do that, the main reason i go on now is the games. >> tonight, she and other facebook users are on the lookout for maylicious software prap called koobface. have i heard there is a virus out there that if you open it, it will take over your entire computer. >> here's how it works. cybercriminals entice to you click on a link by promising

something like an interesting video or a look at sexy photos. the messages look real, often sent from one of your facebook friends but you have to download a special program which is really spyware that infects your computer. it sends the same bogus message to all of your facebook friends. >> just one person getting infected on a social networking site actually opens the door to houses if not hundreds of thousands or millions getting infected. >> testifies almost a victim. >> it was just like a link to click on. >> but knew something wasn't right. >> i haven't talked to that person in a long time and thought it was weird for him to send me a random video. i figure it had afs virus. >> experts say keep your anti-virus software current. >> that was mary peyton reporting. if you click on the infected link, you can use a reputable program to clean up your computer. >> designing women" actress dixie carter died. her publicist says she died

yesterday morning. carter was best known for her role as julia sugarbaker on the cbs sit-com "designing women"" and nominated for her guest role in despera"desperate housewives appeared on "diff'rent strokes" as well as on broadway.she was just 70 years old. it is 7:47 now on this sunday morning. we're looking at another beautiful spring day across the area. justin is in with the forecast. >> that's right. the weather just keeps on getting better as temperatures today about 10 degrees warmer and that yesterday's highs but won't last. there will be some changes in the seven-day forecast. all the details when we return.

♪

>> a little bit of a party through the streets of washington yesterday. these are sounds from the cherry blossom parade. the entire festival wraps up today with a ten mile run and five mile walk. is it t started a little while ago. today runners compete for who,000 in prize money and, of course, as a result, you can expect delays with traffic throughout the morning all over the district. at least along the race route. all right. 7:50 right now. justin drabick is in storm center4. we had a really nice yesterday. today i guess it's going to be that much better, right? >> exactly. how about 70? if you don't like the 60s, you're going to love today. we'll be about 10 degrees bob our average and another perfect start to this morning. temperatures right here average in the low to mid 40s. some areas were out in the 30s, especially in the rural locations. virginia piedmont out towards the mountains wrt frost advisory

remains in effect for about another ten minutes. cloud free skies across the district. and much of the mid-atlantic. so everybody enjoying this nice pleasant weather throughout this weekend. 47 the temperature at national this hour. southwest breeze very light. five miles per hour. but that direction of the wind is critical in our forecast. it's from the southwest. that's going to start to bring in the milder air as we push through the morning and throughout the day today. that will come to an end as we'll be talking about another cold front making its way through our region overnight tonight. enjoy this afternoon. elsewhere regional temperatures holding out in the mid 40s. even some areas reaching the 50s already. and overnight last night, areas along the water across the northern neck of virginia made it down to the low 50s with a light breeze coming in off the chesapeake bay. those areas seeing water temperatures already in the mid 50s. that's why those numbers whether up. inland location wrtz cool spot today. into the 30s.

frost advisory already discontinued. it was very spotty today. there was probably just enough of a breeze as temperatures had a tough time making it down into the mid 30s. that's really where you need to be to get frost developing. lots of warm there off to our south and west. over st. louis, the ohio valley. that's all headed our way. that's compliments of high pressure again remaining in dominance over the mid-atlantic. big high pressure off the coast of north carolina right now producing a nice southwest wind flow. again, all the heat developing over the south is headed our way. there's the next front i was talking about just off to our north across the northern great lakes, the southern tier of new york state. a band of clouds there. notice the rain. not a lot with it. that's good news if you are not trying to deal with rain later tonight into your monday as this front has really moisture limited. there you go. it should come through on the dry side. just expect clouds to start increasing as we head late through the afternoon. on the back side of this high pressure system, a clack setup

for temperatures above average. we will saul it last week. not as hot this week, but certainly comfortable in the mid-70s throughout the afternoon. here we go. look at future cast. check this out. front comes in from the north. there's the band of clouds that starts moving in later this evening into the over night. as the front makes its way to the south of the district by tomorrow morning, notice a wind switch. also still lingering clouds. i think by the afternoon we'll break out into more sunshine. a comfortable day. temperatures will begin to drop. then tuesday, possible disturbance coming from in from the great lakes. that could trigger showers. but for today, enjoy it. mostly sunny. very nice. mid-70s tomorrow. again, we're talking about cooler temperatures behind the front in the upper 60s. tuesday that's the coolest day. and it may be even a few degrees cooler if we get rain at 63. wednesday up to 65 degrees for the high temperature. by the end of the week, we'll

see the next front possibly producing more rain showers our way.right now the chances are slim. temperatures near average, mid to upper 60s. >> and you know it's april. if we can only get one day with a little rain in the forecast, i think we can take that. >> we need april showers. >> just to stick with the whole rhyme. thanks a lot, justin. >> tiger woods is looking for a comeback and the nats edge out the mets. hakem dermish has your sports. >> good morning, everyone. super sunday at the masters is set. englishman lee westwood is at the top of the leaderboard but he's got the kind of company you'd break out egyptian cotton for. phil mickelson one shot behind, tiger woods four shots behind westwood. we're in augusta, georgia. tiger woods trying to make a move on moving day putting for birdie. this is vintage tiger controls the ball. hangs on the edge and then it drops. augusta roars, so does tiger at 8 under. however, he's never won a major when trailing after 54 who else.

either has this guy but this was good. phil mickelson eagled 13. this is his approach on 14 from 130 yards away. this is awesome. back to back eagles, the third player in masters history to do that, one shot behind the leader. here's 50-year-old fred couples on 15, his third shot chipping from just off the green. gets that to go. still in contention at the masters at minus 7. they're all casing this man. lee westwood, leader after two rounds, leader after three rounds now. second shot on the par 5 15th from 221 yards out. he's going to like this. and golf fans you're going to like it, too. westwood birdies the hole. phil and tiger woods right on his heel sunrise just wanted to put myself in contention and as of right now, i'm only 4 back. a good round tomorrow, you never know. >> i haven't played this well in a long time.

i feel like my game's as good as it's been. i love this tournament more than any other. i love sunday under being if contention. today was a good day. i shot a good number that got me right in it and i'm excited about sunday. >> phil mickelson tees off at 2:40. tiger tees off ten minutes to 4:00. friday night, the wizards found a way to beat the celtics. last night, taking on the hawks who have won eight straight against washington. at verizon center, capital centre, nicolas back strom taking in the game. black with the ball, drives right past al horford. thank you very much. blatche went for a team hile 24 points. wizards down 52-50 at the break. fourth quarter, mike miller passed marvin williams for the bucket. il miller added 16 points. they couldn't stop jamal crawford. hits the three-pointer and gets

fouled. never foul a three-point shooter. crawford scored 12 of his 28 points in the final quarter. the hawks downed the wizards, 105-95. talking baseball now. two guys both named willie willed the nates to victory against the new york mets yesterday afternoon. ta repair ves drove in a career hile four rbis. and willie harris made the catch of the day. top of the second inning, no score. willie tavares up with two on and two out. he delivers big-time. drives it deep to left center. off the wall and the gap, two runs are going to score, and that repair ves has a two-rbi triple. nationals take a 2-0 lead. ta repair ves finished with a career high four rbis. bottom nine. drama. caps facing barajas. bases loaded. check out willie harris. oh, yes. folks, it's glovely. a game-ending diving catch. harris said once he hit it, my mind was made up. willie go, make this happen. he did.

the nats win their second ball game of the year, 4-3 is the final. turning now to soccer. d.c. united up the road in philadelphia last night trying to spoil the expansion team's inaugural home opener. look who's at the game. vice president joe biden. second half, d.c. united trailing 2-1. chris seitz looking downfield. check out jaime moreno. stays with him. seitz loses it. moreno steals it.that was sweet. and scores. one of the best plays you're going to see all season right there. game tied at two. 79th minute. same score. sebastian le toux with a kick. he rips it into the back of the net. le toux had a hat trick. d.c. united fall to the union, 3-2 the final. >> that's your morning sports. i'm hakem dermish. have a great day. >> we've got live pictures we want to show you, irving, texas,

the old cowboy stadium or texas stadium it was called brt cowboys used to play. it's going to be imploded in a couple seconds literally here. a ton of dynamite being used to blow up texas stadium right at 8:00 this morning. this is of course, where the cowboys used to play their last game was in december of 2008. they move into the new cowboys stadium, a $1.2 billion facility in arlington last season. we're going to stick with this picture for a little bit here. we know they've lined up all the dynamite around this and going to blow it up, quite literally. it should take about a minute for that to happen. and we're going to see if we can see it happen.